High-tech entrepreneurs launch their companies quietly, with the hope of emerging from obscurity by turning an innovative, compelling idea into the next big thing.

The Sacramento region has dozens of such companies, all dreaming of becoming the next Google or Intel, though few startups reach that level of success.

The Business Journal recently conducted an informal survey of a dozen venture capitalists, investors, business owners and other industry watchers to determine the next high-flying companies in the region. We sought companies that might rise to become the next Sierra Logic Inc. of Rose­ville or Cameron Park’s MaxPreps Inc., which sold for $180 million in 2006 and $43 million last year, respectively.

Of the 42 companies that were named as promising up-and-comers, five topped the list: Freepath Inc., IoSafe Inc., PlanarMag Inc., SynapSense and Wi-Fi Rail Inc.

Freepath

Combining PDF and PowerPoint can be a challenge. Freepath aims to make it simple.

The Folsom company — with a repeat appearance on the list — is developing projection software that integrates different media types — such as video, Microsoft Corp.’s PowerPoint and Adobe Systems Inc.’s Portable Document Format (PDF). A few clicks on a playlist, and the software creates an easy-to-use presentation.

Freepath is headed by John Stone, a former Apple Inc. executive and founder of PowerSchool Inc. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) acquired PowerSchool, which sells Web-based software to help schools track their records, for $62 million in 2001.

In late 2007, six-employee Freepath closed a $1.5 million Series A funding round led by Velocity Venture Capital. The company is in negotiations for a second funding round.

“The economy right now complicates that further,” Stone said. “In our minds, it kind of requires companies to step it up a notch.”

The company is pre-revenue but debuted its second-generation software, available as a free application from the MyFreepath online community, where customers exchange playlists of content. “Our feedback has been really positive,” Stone said.

Freepath will continue to offer the free version of the software, but plans a features-rich, advertisement-free premium version in January. The company has not determined the price.

“We’re targeting the mainstream consumer user,” said Stone, who expects revenue in first-quarter 2009. “It’s not going to be an expensive, high-end type application.”

SynapSense

SynapSense is a two-time list-maker, but it definitely deserves the attention, according to our poll and even the U.S. Department of Energy.

Last month, the Folsom company was honored by the federal agency for its innovative approach to saving energy in data centers.

In September, the company was named one of the 100 hottest green technology companies in the nation, according to the GoingGreen list by AlwaysOn, an online media magazine in Silicon Valley.

Even the Sacramento Municipal Utility District has embraced the technology, spending about $18,000 with SynapSense.

The company’s wireless-sensor network technology allows data centers to cut energy costs and trim their carbon footprint while optimizing operations. Data centers typically consume up to 60 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings.

The company has at least a handful of high-profile customers, including Internet giant Yahoo Inc., Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Adobe Systems Inc., chief executive officer Peter Van Deventer said.

Van Deventer, a former Intel Corp. executive, and Raju Pandey, a University of California Davis computer science associate professor, started SynapSense in 2006.

“We’re really accelerating into the market,” said Van Deventer, who would not disclose the number of employees or revenue. In April, the company had 35 employees. “We’re really pleased with where things are going.”

PlanarMag

Automation of a century-old, labor-intensive practice could create a money-making opportunity for PlanarMag.

The West Sacramento company is developing tiny electromagnetic components used to isolate and shape electronic signals for communications equipment and power applications. For more than a century, such components have been made by winding wire around a circular piece of magnetic material. Hundreds of millions of them are made by hand in China and incorporated into electronics.

Now, the eight-employee company aims to automate the process, and create electromagnetic components that improve performance and increase bandwidth.

“It’s a long time coming for this industry,” PlanarMag vice president of marketing and sales Steve Kubes said.

Large system communication manufacturers have started sampling PlanarMag’s products, said Kubes, who would not disclose the manufacturers.

The company has attracted attention — and dollars. American River Ventures invested $1.5 million in seed money in PlanarMag in February.

University of California Davis professor Anh-Vu is chief technology officer and Lee Harrison, former vice president of operations for once-promising local semiconductor-maker KeyEye Communications Inc., is the chief executive officer. KeyEye closed in March. Harrison has also worked for Intel Corp. and Level One Communications before it was acquired by Intel.

“Things are looking very good,” Kubes said. “I think there will be some exciting things in 2009.”

IoSafe

Protecting data against a big-time disaster is proving to be a big-time hit for IoSafe.

The Auburn company makes “disaster-proof” hardware to protect data on hard drives from floods, fires and even 30-foot drops.

The storage device uses fans to cool the computer when operating. During a fire, for example, the system shuts all openings and goes into fire-protection mode.

IoSafe teamed with Fujitsu Computer Products of America Inc. to create the “world’s first disaster-protected internal hard drive,” Moore said. In August, ioSafe unveiled a small-business product that starts at $200. It can go in any personal computer, server or storage array.

IoSafe plans to unveil a product for the home market in the next 30 days.

The company also makes single- and four-disk hard drives for corporate customers. The ioSafe S1 costs $3,000 and features 1 terabyte of protected storage. The ioSafe R4, with 3 terabytes, costs $15,000.

The 10-employee company is working with large manufacturers to “leverage our technology and deploy it globally,” Moore said. “Any large computer manufacturer like (Hewlett-Packard Co. or Dell Inc.) would be able to integrate it into their existing technology to create disaster-proof products. It’s better for a small guy to make partnerships like that.”

The company landed a $2.25 million deal with an undisclosed company with 150 pharmacies this year, its largest since starting in 2005. Moore would not disclose annual revenue.

IoSafe recently secured funding to take the company through 2009, and is looking for more long-term equity partners, said Moore, who would not detail the investor.

Wi-Fi Rail

Bay Area commuters can avoid bumper-to-bumper traffic on bridges and freeways — and surf the Web, thanks to Wi-Fi Rail.

The Gold River company’s patent-pending high-speed broadband wireless service is being tested on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), and could expand to other commuter lines worldwide. “America is not where we’re stopping,” said Wi-Fi Rail chief executive officer Cooper Lee, who founded the company in 2005.

The nine-employee company could complete a deal with BART and establish the nation’s largest transit-based Wi-Fi system within two years, Lee said. BART allowed the company to install its equipment at four downtown San Francisco stations and a 2.6-mile test track in Hayward. The underground portion of the network, tested since May 2007, includes the Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell and Civic Center stations. Tests last spring included streaming live videos while watching Internet video feeds, video conferencing and downloading large files.

The company’s four-patent technology includes fiber-optic cables, radio transmitters, cellular-powered poles placed along the tracks and battery backup systems.

Wi-Fi Rail executives say its network is three to four times faster than the average home digital subscriber line service — and faster and more reliable than other providers with onboard wireless service, which often depend on land-based transmitters and satellites.

So far, more than 14,000 people have signed up for the free Wi-Fi Rail service, logging on more than 73,000 times. The business model is based on network subscriptions, with daily passes at $10. Monthly and annual passes would cost $30 and $300, respectively.

The company expects to generate revenue at the end of the second phase. Family, friends and angel investors have invested $1.8 million in the startup. Lee said he expects to complete another round of financing for $3 million by the end of January.